kamira51
Active Member
I 100% agree with you on this, highway 9 being split in two was absolutely stupid, the section that was downloaded in 1998 is still heavily used.
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- Thread starter Haljackey
- Start date
ShonTron
Moderator
There are a few others, like Highway 4 north of Clinton (should have still continued north at least to Highway 9 near Walkerton), Highway 24 between Cambridge and Guelph, or the sections of Highway 3 along Lake Erie. But Highway 9 is a great one to point to just to remark how bad that downloading was carried out.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Sections of 3 in Chatham Kent have been permanently closed due to erosion. It's not a particularly important road.
Honestly 3 is so broken up and winding of a route it's not a particularly useful highway anymore. Which is frustrating as if it was properly built it would be a fairly useful corridor, at least from Fort Erie to St Thomas. It needs to be rebuilt on a more direct alignment through Niagara and should get a couple of town bypasses as well, probably for Simcoe and Aylmer.
The download that always bothered me was 169, which functions basically exclusively as a connection from 12 to 11 with no significant amount of local traffic. I could complain about others as well (48 east of 12, 9 as already mentioned, 52 connecting 5 to the 403, 86 between 85 and 23, etc.)... If you ask me the province should do a strategic review of it's network and rationalize it with some uploads and renumberings. It's especially frustrating these days with local municipalities going hog wild with reduced speed zones, which MTO has generally managed to avoid so far on their highways..
Honestly 3 is so broken up and winding of a route it's not a particularly useful highway anymore. Which is frustrating as if it was properly built it would be a fairly useful corridor, at least from Fort Erie to St Thomas. It needs to be rebuilt on a more direct alignment through Niagara and should get a couple of town bypasses as well, probably for Simcoe and Aylmer.
The download that always bothered me was 169, which functions basically exclusively as a connection from 12 to 11 with no significant amount of local traffic. I could complain about others as well (48 east of 12, 9 as already mentioned, 52 connecting 5 to the 403, 86 between 85 and 23, etc.)... If you ask me the province should do a strategic review of it's network and rationalize it with some uploads and renumberings. It's especially frustrating these days with local municipalities going hog wild with reduced speed zones, which MTO has generally managed to avoid so far on their highways..
Steve X
Senior Member
The whole point of the 1998 downgrades (2nd major batch) was to cut cost and have someone else pay for it. There is no logical reason. They couldn't downgrade Northern Ontario highways cause there is no one else to send the bill to as the districts have no formal multiplicity government.
They didn't cared about continuity. Just get their hands off as many lanes as possible. Southern Ontario barely has any highways compared to most provinces/states in North America. The network is much more sparse.
They didn't cared about continuity. Just get their hands off as many lanes as possible. Southern Ontario barely has any highways compared to most provinces/states in North America. The network is much more sparse.
lenaitch
Senior Member
The one that always got me was Hwy 12 between Coldwater and Waubaushene that was downloaded and turned into Simcoe Rd. 16. The roughly 6lm stretch in the middle of the highway confuses tourists and also confuses their GPS because the route they are directed to (Hwy 400) is so close by that the map image zoom often can't easily differentiate. The County couldn't use the same number because County Rd. 12 was already taken.
Similarly, former Hwy 93 is County Rd. 93 then Hwy 93 then County Rd. 93 again but at least its all the same number.
The way I recall it, the guise was to remove roads from the provincial system that only served a local purpose, but there was an element of 'book balancing' in that the whole process was to be revenue neutral. I believe of the big trade-off was welfare, which a previous government had downloaded to the municipalities.
2323
New Member
Drove the entirety of 407E today during rush hour. It actually gets quite busy now, especially the section in between the 412 and the 418, where there were a few times where traffic slowed down considerably. A decent amount of cars east of the 418 too which used to be pretty desolate, but is still very fast. Still, definitely not the same highway since it became free! I believe the 407+418 has more or less replaced the majority of the 35/155 for those heading to and from Toronto, certainly Waze prefers that route now.
It certainly is an interesting case study as to what would happen if the rest of the 407 was free. I can only imagine it would result catastrophic congestion, as even with the tolls the highway is well used.
It certainly is an interesting case study as to what would happen if the rest of the 407 was free. I can only imagine it would result catastrophic congestion, as even with the tolls the highway is well used.
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Steve X
Senior Member
They need 6 lanes as a toll-free highway. Trucks add a considerable congestion too. Now, what will the 413 look like on opening day.
giantorangehead
New Member
Does anyone know the estimates for when the 400 widening will be opened? The southernmost section appears to be nearing completion.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
sometime this year for the part between King Rd and Highway 9, officially. My bet is September / October. The part through Vaughan isn't as far along, it's not due until 2027.
Transportfan
Senior Member
With a connecting link, the province doesn't maintain the highway, Whatever cost remains is minimal and worth it for clarity in an active through-highway corridor. Decommissioning it outright made as much sense as it would be to decommission Highway 4 through London just because it also follows city streets.
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lenaitch
Senior Member
I just caught this. Hwy 7 never did go through Port Perry; Hwy 7A does. Back before freeways were essentially straightlined through the countryside, provincial highways were built to connect existing towns. Highway 7 was built as an inland east-west route connecting communities that were not along the shore of the lakes.
Sauga89
Active Member
The mayor of Sarnia has written to the Ontario transportation minister to complain about heavy truck traffic on the 402. Trucks are apparently pulling off the highway onto city streets to avoid traffic on the 402.
(EDIT: Also, extreme heat has been closing the 402 by damaging the road surface.)
(EDIT: Also, extreme heat has been closing the 402 by damaging the road surface.)
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qubyte
New Member
A large percentage of the trucks are taking a detour to avoid the ridiculously high tolls on the Ambassador Bridge. After the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, traffic over the Bluewater Bridge and Hwy 402 near Sarnia should decline drastically.
Steve X
Senior Member
The owner of the privately owned Ambassador Bridge knows they are screwed once the Gordie Howe Bridge opens, so they are doing whatever they can till then.
jamincan
Active Member
They have redirected westbound traffic on the 401 at the new Tremaine Rd. overpass to new lanes as of this morning with traffic entirely shifted off of the original lanes. It's almost like it's being set up with an express-collector configuration despite the Hwy 25 overpass not being configured for that and not having the space for it. Does anyone have any drawings for what the planned configuration in the area will ultimately be?